mardi 8 décembre 2015

A tasty classic that’s great for lunchboxes! Tuck into this hearty Slimming World style sarnie...

ingredients

6 tbsp fat-free natural fromage frais

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

2 tsp granulated artificial sweetener

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp water

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 slices wholemeal bread from a small 400g loaf

Iceberg lettuce, shredded

Tomatoes, sliced

2 rashers of grilled lean bacon with all visible fat removed

method

To make the mayonnaise, mix together the fromage frais, white wine
vinegar and artificial sweetener. Blend the mustard powder with the
water and stir into the dressing. Season with the salt and pepper.

Lay out the bread and assemble the sandwich by firstly spreading on
the mayonnaise. Add as much as you want – any leftover mayonnaise can be
stored in the fridge in a sealed container for up to five days.

Layer the lettuce, tomato and bacon onto one slice of the bread then
top with the other slice. Serve on its own as a lunchbox filler or
alongside a huge crispy salad.

Tip: If you fancy it, add cooked chicken and sliced red onion to make it into a mega sandwich.

Preparing food well in advance not only saves me tons of time but also stop me thinking things such as “what can I eat” “what should I have for lunch/dinner” etc etc. Without
these questions not does it stop me opting for the quick and easy junk
food options, but it also saves me from failing, failing my over all
goal which is to eat healthy.

Today I’m going to show you how I bulk prep egg & bacon sandwich filling, part of my guide to slimming world sandwiches. Not only is it quick, easy, unbelievably cheap, it’s also very low in syns.
Here we go!

Ingredients

10 Eggs

2 Packs of Cheap Bacon (smoked/unsmoked)

7 Heaped Tbsp Light Mayo

Salt & Pepper to Season

Place all the eggs into a pan of water and bring to the boil, approximately 10 – 15 minutes.
While the eggs are on the boil trim all visible fat off the bacon,
this part that takes the longest, but once it’s done we’re home dry!

Once you’ve removed all the fat, fry the bacon in a pan with a few squirts of frylight to prevent it sticking.

Did you see how much fat I cut off the bacon…393 grams!
Drain off any excess fat that comes out of the bacon, we don’t want this!

Put the bacon to one side and allow to cool. While your waiting for
the bacon, remove the eggs from the heat, drain and run under cold
water. When the bacon’s cooled, shred it to any size that you
desire. Now your eggs are cold, shell and grate them using a cheese
grater.

Mix the eggs and bacon together in a large bowl with 7 heaped
tablespoons of light mayonnaise (less if preferred) and mix throughly,
season to taste.

That’s it! All done

Tweaking the recipe, something different every day

Once I had the base for my weeks sandwiches it was just a case of
tweaking each one day any way I felt. The mixture is fine in the fridge
for the week and saves me so much time; I don’t have to cook anything,
there’s no real preparation need once it’s made; it’s simply the case of
adding the filling and some salad to bread, and that’s it. The best
part of all, no more boring sandwiches like the flat wafer thin ham
sandwiches I used to live on; could it get any worse?
Here are the variations I had for the week using this one filling.Monday – Filling on its ownTuesday – Filling with finely diced red onion & sweetcornWednesday – Filling with lettuce & Red onionThursday – Filling with watercress & Red onionFriday – Filling with lettuce, cucumber, tomato and red onion

As you can see I had something different every day of the week while
using the same filling. I’ve got to say these big bulky fillings beat
the dull and boring ham sandwiches I used to have; not only do they
taste 10x better but they are also 10x more filling.
You’ve probably noticed that I’m not the biggest lover of
tomato/cucumber and my salad selection is limited. This is only me, you
can pack your sandwich with whatever you want, your imagination is the
limit.
Credit : http://www.fatboysdiet.com

I’m loving these prepared sandwich fillings, especially the latest one I’ve just finished; roast chicken & bacon.
This filling is super simple to make, tastes amazing, and stupidly cheap, so let’s jump right in shall we!Ingredients

1 large chicken

3 pack cheap bacon

9 heaped tbsp light mayo

Salt & pepper to taste

Method

First things first, you need to pop the
chicken in the oven and get that cooking, you should remove all the skin
before cooking to avoid adding fat meat, and the temptation of eating
it. I personally leave it on and discard it at the end; I think it keeps
the chicken nice and moist, and I can’t be arsed removing it raw!

Cook the chicken until the juices run clear (no blood). If you’re unsure how to cook a chicken,
While the chicken’s cooking you can remove all the fat from the
bacon, and then roughly cut into smaller pieces, nothing fancy just
easier to cook.

Fry the bacon in a pan with a few squirts of fry light, draining any
fat that may come out the bacon as it cooks. Cook all the bacon and then
put aside in a bowl ready for later.
When the chicken’s cooked, place on a plate or cooling rack and allow to cool (enough to handle).
Remove as much chicken from the bones as possible, discarding any fatty bits, AND the skin. Don’t eat it…I know it’s tempting.

Now you’ve got the chicken, you now need to shred it into smaller
pieces. As you can see from mine below I’ve got small bits and large
chunks, it’s no big deal how you do it just remember the smaller the
bits the further the mixture will go.
If you want to shred your bacon bits any more, now’s the time, if not mix the chicken and bacon bits together in a large bowl.
Add 9 heaped tablespoons of light mayonnaise, and mix thoroughly.
Season with salt a pepper, be careful with the amount of salt you put in as bacon is usually quite salty to start with.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the opening of a new Cardiff
restaurant the other week, The restaurant is called 'Tortilla' and I
have to say it was amazing.

I know Slimming World does not endorse any restaurants but I was lucky
enough to have a long chat with the chef Bruno Piers and from what he
told me a lot of the ingredients they use would be very 'Slimming World
friendly'.

Although they do the usual burritos and tacos which we all know are high
in syns they also do this other dish called a 'Naked Burrito' and this
is a lot of the yummy fillings that go into burritos but are served in a
bowl so you don't get the high syn tortilla wrap. You have a choice you
can eat in or have a takeaway and the friendly staff really help to
give the place a great atmosphere.

When I spoke to Bruno he explained they use only fresh ingredients and
in fact don't even have freezers on the premises. He was very open and
honest and said they use a very little oil to stick the spices onto the
grilled chicken option and a very little oil in the rice before they
cook it.

To assemble your Naked Burrito you stand in front of a counter and
choose your fillings so it's very easy to make sure you have lots of the
speed foods like the salad and free foods like the beans to fill you
up.

Mine was started with rice, then some grilled chicken then lots of
lettuce and fresh salsa and a mixture of fresh coriander and onion. I
also had a few lime wedges to squeeze on top and have to say it was
absolutely delicious. Tasted really fresh but was also filling due to
the beans and rice it was spicy but not too hot. They serve hot sauces
if you like things spicier!!

To be on the safe side I counted the dish as 6 syns for a tbsp of oil
but don't think it was anywhere near that much there was no oily or
greasy taste to the food.

I was so thrilled to think there was somewhere I could go for food when
on a shopping day out with my family or with the girls and no one had to
think I was having 'diet' food or we coudn't eat somewhere as there was
nothing I could have which has happened countless times in most chain
restaurants.

Tortilla has many branches throughout the UK and I will definitely be
back again. Have a look at the website to see what they make everything
looks so good :)

This recipe came about when I had a few leftover peppers and luckily got
some reduced raw king prawns in ASDA , Well they say necessity is the
mother of invention....

I love Chinese food and I think hoisin sauce goes really well with
seafood, I buy my Chinese sauces either online or at Chinese
supermarkets but most supermarkets sell it now but don't buy ones
labelled as 'stir fry' sauces they are highish in syns you want to get
ones just labelled 'hoisin sauce',

Hoisin is quite strong so I add some light soy to make it a lighter
sauce. I think you could make this with cooked chicken maybe or some
already cooked prawns but if you use them add them right near the end so
they don't overcook.

I served this with some egg noodles which are syn free but remember to use dried not fresh as the fresh ones some have syns.

Spray a large wok or large frying pan with the spray oil and over a
medium heat stir fry the onions, mushrooms and peppers until just
starting to soften.

Add the raw prawns and stir fry them until they turn pink, Add the
hoisin sauce and soy sauce and mix well. Cook for another 2-3 minutes
until everything is hot (Add a splash or so of water if the sauce seems
too thick).

This recipe is super quick and easy it makes salmon go a lot further and
it's change from just a plain salmon fillet. It cooks in around 20
minutes so it's a great one to cook after work looks fab on the plate
you would need perhaps a nice side salad for extra speed food or maybe
some stir fried vegetables. If you don't like salmon you could use any
firm fleshed fish cod especially would be nice.

I served two kebabs per person so makes it a nice filling dinner. Its a
bit hard to be exact on how much vegetables you need as it depends on
the size of your skewer! I served with some noodles simply cooked then
tossed in some soy sauce but you could serve with rice if you prefer.

Heat your oven to Gas 6/400/200 then cut each salmon fillet into 6 even
pieces , Thread the skewers starting with a mushroom half , then pepper ,
then salmon and continue finish with a mushroom half this helps to hold
it all together.

Line a baking tray with some baking paper or foil (to save the washing
up) and lay each kebab on the foil. When all done spray lightly with the
spray oil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the fish is cooked
and the vegetables are soft.

I know I'm a bit obsessed with Nigella Lawson new book 'Simply Nigella'
and I'm making loads of the recipes but Slimming World friendly so look
out in future weeks, This recipe was not only really easy to make but it
was really tasty too my family really enjoyed it.

The chili sauce used is Sriracha and I found it in the ethnic foods
aisle in ASDA but saw they had it yesterday in Marks & Spencer and
its fabulous because its so tasty with chili and garlic you don't need
to add any other spices or seasonings apart from the soy sauce which
means you don't need to add any salt. The original recipe asks for short
grain brown rice to be used but couldn't find any so used long grain
brown rice and it was fine.

The measurements are in cups and I picked up measuring cups really
cheaply in the supermarket but you can use a mug as a measure if you
prefer.

Place the beef, rice, sriracha sauce, soy sauce and tomatoes in a slow
cooker and rinse out the can with cold water and add that too. Mix
everything together really well and then cook on low for 4 hours.

Put the beansprouts in a large bowl and pour a kettle of boiling water
over them and leave for 1 minute then drain and add to the slow cooker
and mix everything together very well, Put the lid back on and leave for
5 minutes then serve.

Serve 4 at 1/2 syn per portion

NOTE: I made it in the slow cooker but Nigella says you can make it in a
oven in a heavy based cast iron dish with a lid on and cook on Gas
4/180/350 for 2 - 2/12 hours and add the beansprouts the same way at the
end.

vendredi 4 septembre 2015

I love this dish, its really quick and easy to prepare. I have started
buying frozen ginger and garlic paste which cuts down on prep time even
more. I used sambal olek chili paste but you could use any chili paste
or a fresh red chili chopped if you prefer.

Well, it's September so I am starting to think about soups and stews
and hearty meals and will be starting to use the slow cooker more as
Autumn goes on. This soup is almost a stew really thick and hearty
with tons of flavour. The lentils make it really filling so it is a meal
in itself. You can add any veg you like really I often use leeks too
just didn't happen to have any today also if you want it to go further
you can add some canned chickpeas or beans at the end . A great way to
use up odds and ends of veg left in the fridge as the rest of the
ingredients are just store cupboard bits and pieces. Its syn free on
slimming world .

I posted this for my friend Denise in the US who asked me if I had any vegetarian recipes that weren't curries : )

Spray a large pan with the spray oil and add the carrots, onions,
celery, sprinkle with salt and fry over a low heat until vegetables are
softened. Add the chili , garlic, oregano and lentils and stir for a few
more minutes. (Its smells amazing at this point really herbal and rich)

Add the stock and tomatoes and bring to the boil then turn heat down
and simmer until the soup has reduced and thickened. Takes about 30-45
minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This curry is so quick to make you can have dinner on the table in 20
minutes as long as it takes to cook the rice to go with it. Its a recipe
I have had for a while but again tweaked it a bit to how I like it.
Thats the great thing with recipes I see them more as a guideline I
usually follow them correctly the first time I make something then when I
make it again I sometimes make notes on the recipe like 'more garlic'
or 'bit less chili' so you can make meals to your own taste.

Its not an authentic recipe I used minced beef instead of the minced
pork that was in the original recipe as thats just what I had in the
freezer. The addition of fresh tomatoes really make a big difference to
the flavour too. I use sambal olek chili paste as it adds just the right
amount of heat for me but my husband keeps his bottle of jamaican hot
pepper sauce handy as he likes it hotter! You can easily add heat after
its made but its harder to cool things down once too much spice is in
there.

Another fab one from 'Gok cooks chinese' with just a little tweak or
two it is suitable for slimming world. Tastes really good and quick too
just need to get a few basic storecupboard bits in for the sauce. I
managed to get some salted fermented black beans from a chinese
supermarket in my local city and they were suprisingly cheap and a big
tub of them will last for ages. I picked up the shaoshing rice wine and
soy sauce there too as you can get huge bottles of them for practically
the same price that you can buy little bottles in supermarkets. I also
now use the frozen garlic and ginger paste I got in my local supermarket
again much quicker to use and tastes just as good.

Add the strips of steak and chili and stir fry for about 3 minutes until
strips are brown, Add the broccoli, shaoshing rice wine, soy sauce and 2
tbsp water . Mix everything well , Taste and adjust seasoning if
necessary.

Now to some of you this might sound horrible but believe me it is
delicious, Its another super quick dinner especially if you use leftover
cooked chicken (or cheat like I did with frozen cooked chicken strips).
The vegetables give it colour and freshness . Once the sauce has
reduced it makes a lovely sticky syrupy BBQ tasting sauce but you have
to persevere and simmer it right down it doesn't make a lot of sauce but
it coats everything so its tasty. I served it with egg noodles but you
can serve with rice if you prefer.

Place a wok or large deep frying pan over a high heat and spray with
oil, Add the onions and peppers and stir fry for a few minutes until the
vegetables are soft. Add the mushrooms and stir fry for another couple
of minutes. Add the chicken (if using raw then make sure its stir fried
until cooked through)if using frozen or leftover just stir fry for a few
minutes.

Pour over the can of diet coke, the passata and add the dash of
worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then reduce the
heat and simmer until the sauce is reduced, thick and syrupy , You
really need to have patience because just as you think its not going to
happen it will : )

When I cooked the gammon ham in water it left a delicious stock which I
wanted to use to make a soup . (I hate waste) I left it to go cold
overnight so could skim every little bit of fat from it. I do love thick
soups when the weather starts to get colder. All stock cubes are free
now on slimming world and I know knorr make ham flavoured stock cubes so
even if you haven't done a boiled ham you can still make this soup. I
make this in a large saucepan which is the base of my pressure cooker.

Bring stock to a boil and add the onions and sage, simmer for 10 minutes
then add the split peas, carrots and potatoes. Simmer until peas are
cooked and very soft and soup is thickened, Taste for seasoning and add
the vegetable stock powder if need to .

Add the ham and cook for a few more minutes, Season with pepper and
salt if necessary but probably won't need the salt as the stock will be
salty enough.

Sorry not a very exact recipe but I sort of play it by ear and its very tasty and filling : )

This is adapted from the 'Gok cooks Chinese' book again, slightly
adapted to make it slimming world friendly. One of Goks BEST tips in
this book and makes this egg fried rice so wonderful is that is is
important to use cold, dry rice so I usually cook it the day before and
use it from the fridge. (Have been known to freeze it too and use from
frozen) I LOVE egg fried rice and if you wanted you could add some
prawns or cooked chicken (or both!) and it would be a meal in itself. I
use the boil in the bag rice as its quick and easy no measuring etc.
This recipe makes loads so feel free to halve it if you'd rather but it
is very nice reheated the next day too.

Heat up the wok (or large frying pan) and spray with oil, Add the beaten
eggs and whisk through to make a sort of broken omelette, Add the
cooked rice and stir fry for a few minutes, add the peas and spring
onions and stir fry again for a few minutes. Keep everything moving and
keep turning and stirring to mix it all up well.

Once everything is hot and well mixed (using the cold rice helps it to
not stick together too much) add the soy sauce and again mix well, Taste
for seasoning sometimes I like to use a little more soy sauce.

Tonights dinner is inspired by a meal I had last night in a local
Italian restaurant which was amazing. It was a steak with a blue cheese
sauce so incredibly tasty and I was thinking as blue cheese is a strong
flavour I'm sure you could make it slimming world friendly as you'd only
need a small amount of blue cheese.

I also wanted some tasty potatoes to go with the meal but was working
late tonight so the whole thing had to be quick and it was I got it from
start to plate in 30 minutes.

I was going to do a side salad but spotted the baby spinach and I love
this veg as a 'bed' to put tasty sauces on so served the steak, sauce
and potatoes on a bed of baby spinach so no need for salad dressing as
the sauce soaks through into the spinach.

Place potatoes in a small roasting tin and spray with oil sprinkle with
the thyme, garlic , salt and pepper and shake well, Place in the oven on
the highest heat and roast for about 20-30 minutes take them out and
shake the pan every 10 minutes or so.

After potatoes have been in for about 20 minutes heat up a frying pan
and spray with oil and season the steak with lots of salt and pepper on
both sides.

Place steak in the hot frying pan and fry for 2-5 minutes each side
depending how well done you like your steak. Place steak on a plate ,
cover with foil and place to one side. Remember to rest the steak for as
long as you cooked it for this allows the juices to sink back into the
steak and make it juicy and covered with foil it stays warm for a good
while.

Pour the beef stock into the pan you cooked the steak in (remember it
was trimmed of all fat so its just meat juices in the pan). Bring it to
the boil and boil it very well until it is reduced to just a few
tablespoons of stock then remove from the heat and gently stir in the
blue cheese.

Place the potatoes on the bed of spinach and the steak then pour over the blue cheese sauce.

This serves one and it is about 5 syns which I know isn't that low but its a very tasty treat dinner.

I really fancied beef today and always prefer a slow roasted brisket
rather than any quick roasted topside I think its more tender and has
more flavour. I just season with salt and pepper and cover with foil and
slow cook on gas 4-5 for 3-4 hours (depending on the size) .

As its Autumn one of my favouite vegetables available now are parsnips ,
I adore them roasted and to make them slimming world friendly simply
season with salt and pepper and use spray oil like frylight and roast
them in a hot oven make sure you turn them frequently.

Final meal was slow roasted beef brisket, roast potatoes, roast
parsnips, peas, carrots, brussels sprouts , cabbage and gravy. Oh and I
cheated and bought yorkshire puddings as they are only 2 1/2 syns and
homemade are 4 : )

Credit : http://vicki-kitchen.blogspot.comNow Autumn is well and truly here thoughts turn to comfort food and one
of the best is meatloaf. This recipe is loosely based on one of Ina
Gartans. She used turkey mince but regular turkey mince isn't free on
slimming world although turkey breast mince is free thought it might be a
bit dry so used extra lean pork mince.

The cooked onion mixture makes the meatloaf really savoury and I left
out the breadcrumbs to save syns and don't think you really notice the
difference . I served this with bisto best onion gravy 2. 1/2 syns for
142ml and veg and another comfort food my version of sour cream and
chive mashed potato (recipe to follow another day : )

Since coming back from holiday and being right back on the slimming
world plan one thing thats really helping is taking my lunch into work.
Unfortunately we don't have a microwave now so I invested in a food
flask to take soups and stews to work so save money and stick to the
plan too...everyones a winner : )

I was having a look for soup recipes I could adapt and found this one it
makes a really thick and hearty soup more like a stew really , made a
few adjustments so it was slimming world friendly.

Pasta, kale and white bean soup

3 slices smoked lean back bacon (sliced)

1 onion (chopped)

3 carrots (peeled and chopped)

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp sage

2 tsp thyme

3 pints chicken stock

8oz small pasta like conchigliette (or break up some linguine or spaghetti )

1 can cannelini or haricot beans (drained and rinsed)

1/2 bag chopped kale

salt and pepper

spray oil

Spray a large pan with spray oil , add the bacon and cook for a few
minutes. Add the onion and cook for a few more minutes until the onion
has softened. Add the carrots, garlic, tomato puree, thyme and 1/2 tsp
salt and pepper and cook for a few more minutes. Add the chicken stock,
bring to the boil then turn heat lower and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the pasta and simmer for another8 minutes then add the beans and
kale and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and
pepper. If its too thick just add some more water.

When we were on holiday in Las Vegas for a couple of days we had lunch
in Chipotle which for my UK friends is a Mexican style food takeaway .

It's really good and I had this Burrito bowl both days it was really
filling and fresh tasting it's basically a burrito without the tortilla
wrap and thought when I was there Im sure I can make this slimming world
friendly.

Sooo it might sound like a bit of work but it's really not just some
prep and assembling and it's well worth it . The meal is made up of a
few components pulled pork, pico de gallo, lime and coriander rice,
black eyed beans, shredded lettuce and fat free greek yogurt (instead of
the sour cream) you can also add avocado and grated cheese if not
planning on it being so slimming world friendly. I love avocado but at
9 1/2 syns per 100g couldn't really have it in this.The idea being you
can help yourself and choose what you want in your burrito bowl.

Mix the cumin , oregano, salt and pepper together. Spray the pork with a
little oil and then rub the cumin/oregano mix all over the pork and
place in a slow cooker. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice over
the pork and throw in the slow cooker with the chili, onion and garlic.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours. Drain of excess liquid
then pull the meat apart with two forks until all meat is shredded.

You can see from the pictures just lay out the individual components and
everyone can help themselves. If you want to make a burrito just get
some tortillas and use the individual components and wrap them up in the
tortilla.

This cold Autumnal weather I love to make real comfort food and make the
most of my slow cooker too. This recipe is great as you throw almost
all the ingredients apart from the topping in the slow cooker and let it
get on with it. I
just used carrots and onions this time with the beef but you can use
root vegetables like swede and parnsip in it too if you like them and I
serve it with peas and cabbage so you get your 1/3 superfree if on the
slimming world extra easy plan . Its a good one to cook on low in the
slow cooker while at work then when you come in just have to put the
topping on and put in the oven.

Beef Hotpot

1 lb lean braising steak (cubed)

1 large onion (chopped)

2-3 large carrots (sliced)

1/2 pint beef stock

1 tsp dried or fresh thyme

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

some dried potato powder (like smash)

2 large potatoes (sliced very thinly)

spray oil

Put the steak, onions, carrots, stock, thyme and salt and pepper in the
slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours until
steak is tender. Thicken the gravy with a little dried potato (syn free
so an easy way to thicken a gravy without extra syns) Taste for
seasoning.

Put the beef mixture into a casserole dish and top with overlapping
slices of the potato then spray lightly with oil sprinkle with a little
salt and pepper and place in the oven at gas 5/375/190 for about an hour
until potatoes are cooked and browned on the top. Its a good idea to
place the dish on a baking sheet you can see from the pic the gravy
sometimes bubbles up over the top of the dish during cooking and will
save your oven : )